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Kodaline / She's The One

This story originally appeared on Contagious I/O, our customisable research platform featuring the world’s most innovative, creative and effective ad campaigns and marketing ideas

Band promotes new single by helping a fan propose over Periscope

Kodaline, a rock band from Ireland, have raised awareness of their latest single by hosting a one-off show over the live video streaming service of the moment, Periscope.

The quartet’s new track is a love song and is called The One. So what better way of promoting it than helping one fan propose to another?

Working with content agency Banana Stand, the band, which is signed to Sony Music Entertainment, ambushed the couple in a pub in the UK, and sang their new song to them before the husband-to-be got down on one knee.

The couple taking part are lifelong Kodaline fans. Their first date was at one of the band’s gigs, and they even named their son Kodie.

During the performance, the public were invited to watch the proposal live through Periscope. To do so, they just needed to download the app and follow the link to the stream, which was posted on the band’s Twitter page.

In other Periscope-related news, Versace hosted a breakfast in bed livestream with Donatella Versace on the platform. Viewers could get a ‘behind closed doors’ view of her life, as well as a sneak peek at the opulent décor in her home.

Contagious Insight /

Hot topic / Without a doubt, live video streaming has been one of the most talked about technologies of the past few months. First, Meerkat shot to fame, buoyed by a lot of enthusiasm from tech journalists and industry experts at the South by South West festival in Austin and also at the launch of the Apple Watch. But, fearing that it wasn’t taking a big enough slice of the action, Twitter cut its support of Meerkat and purchased the app’s rival, Periscope.

Getting experimental / In spite of this, brands have been eager to take advantage of all this media excitement by dreaming up their own one-off streams through these apps. Kodaline’s #TheOneKnee feels like the best fit: its young fanbase is probably well-attuned to Periscope, and the subject matter (a proposal) is a one-off event that many will think is worth tuning in for. Unique proposal ideas have already clocked up millions of views on YouTube – like this proposal on a train – but for fans to be there, in the moment with the bride and groom, feels more special.

Versace’s stream also has a feeling of exclusivity – it’s not every day that you get to see the brand’s icon tucking into breakfast in bed – and this could play nicely into the luxury positioning of the brand. In other words, ephemeral content is harder to find. You need to be there in the right place, at the right time, and this could possibly help luxury brands to create the sense of scarcity that’s so important in maintaining a luxury status.

This story originally appeared on Contagious I/O. Contagious I/O is our bespoke trends, inspiration, insight and analysis service, providing daily innovative marketing intelligence across a comprehensive range of sectors to brands and agencies across the world. For more information about Contagious I/O contact sales@contagious.com